The Rise of X
by Assassin Central
Summary: The torch of Starling City has been passed to Roy noe that Oliver has finally settled down. Roy was doing a routine scout of the city when he is attacked by a mysteriius murderer who calls himself Red X. Now, Oliver must protect the people he loves from this new criminal who wants to kill everyone.


Chapter One

It was dark in the city of Starling. Not darker than any usual night, but it gave Roy the chills for some reason.

Years and years of being the Arrow's right hand man paid off for Roy, now he being the vigilante in Starling City. Oliver finally hung up the hood, opting out for a life ripped from him over ten years ago, and Roy became the Arrow.

The red cloaked man gazed out at the city below, his careful eyes scanning for danger. It was a quiet night tonight. Its never a quiet night in this town.

Roy tapped his communicator, tuning into the police radio. There were a few words about a car accident in the outskirts, and a man streaking in the downtown, but nothing of great concern to the Arrow. Just as he was about to turn in for the night, the radio screeched, "We've just had a murder right in front of us! Back up back up!" The transmission ended with a dying cry of help, and an explosion on the other side of town.

Roy made his way over to the area quickly, landing nimbly on the ground. Fire was still raging from the explosion, and the bodies of the unlucky cops who arrived first were burning, sending out the air of cooked human. Roy almost got sick from the scent.

He had his bow out, and an arrow threaded already. He went over Oliver's lessons in his head: step one, know everything about where you are.

Ok, so he's in a courtyard, the building around burning like torches. He can hear the backup the cops called for in the distance, most likely distracted with crowd control. Giant explosions in the middle of the city tended to cause a panic.

Roy couldn't find the person who did this in the courtyard, but he did find something else very interesting. Upon examining the bodies, he noticed a mark on both men: an angry, black X seared into their skulls.

"Hm... X. That's weird."

"That's Red X to you."

Roy barely had time to react before someone tried to take his head off. He narrowly dodged, swinging his bow at the offender, who hopped away.

The Arrow whipped back, threading an arrow and shooting, but the person moved already, moving behind Roy and grasping him in a choke hold.

The murderer said, his voice obviously disguised by a program, "So you're the Arrow. Weird, I expected you to be better, Oliver Queen. And I always thought you were the green type of guy."

Roy flipped the man over when he noticed how lithe he was. This 'Red X' was only a teen. But he was skilled.

As soon as he was flipped over, he threw something at Roy. A red X landed on his red clothed arm, then exploded. The blast wasn't enough to kill Roy, but it was enough to throw him against a wall, his uniform shredded.

The Arrow was attempting to get up when a foot crushed him back down to the ground, landing squarely against his jaw.

The troublemaking youth finally came into view, his skull mask menacing in the light of the flames, and his cloak blocking out all other sights.

Red X put more weight on Roy as he sunk down a little closer, saying, "Wait, you aren't Oliver Queen. Who the hell are you anyway?"

Roy's hands groped for a moment before closing around the foot on his face, then he swung Red X away, slamming him into the wall. He then got up, shooting three arrows, thus binding the X to the wall. He then walked over, kneeling in front of Red X, "I'm the Arrow, and you're going to jail for murder, buddy."

Red X snickered lowly, then hissed, "Please, like a fake like you can stop me. Not even the Titans could stop me. Don't make me laugh." He slammed his hand against Roy's side, then a sticky red substance covered Roy and bound him to the ground. Next, X easily dislodged the arrows, abandoning them on the ground. He then strolled over and said, "Just tell me where the real Arrow is, and I won't have to hurt you."

That single sentence gave Roy hope. This guy was new to Starling City because he had no idea where Oliver lived. The Arrow could play that to his advantage.

In his best fake begging voice, he replied, "Wait, wait, don't hurt me! Alright, I'm not the Arrow, just a random guy messing around! To answer your question, Queen isn't here anymore. He died like three years ago."

Red X looked thrown off, his eye sockets narrowing, "What? Dead?"

"Yea, yea! He was killed by some sickness, or something like that. I swear!"

X put his hand to his chin, pacing around Roy, "So my informant was wrong? I guess its possible. The guy is looney as hell. But he was sure Queen was here... Alright, I'll bite. Where is his grave?"

Roy internally cursed, then lied, "He was incinerated, man! Cooked! Thrown out to sea! There isn't any grave!"

"Lie!" Red X nailed a well aimed kick to Roy's chest, making him fall over in pain, "I knew you were lying. Everyone knows that Queens own a cemetery plot where they all end up after death. Now make this easy on yourself and tell me the truth. Where is the Arrow?"

Roy snarled, "Go to hell!"

X shrugged, then shoved an abandoned arrow into Roy's chest, near his heart. He laughed as Roy fell to the ground, seeming dead. He then said to himself as he wiped the blood off his arm, "Now, for the real Arrow." Red X whistled a light tune as he began to walk away, tapping his arm. He then disappeared into the night.


End file.
